Patient Experience team (Complaints and PALS)

The Patient Experience team is the central point of contact for people to provide feedback and raise concerns about the services provided by Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Our aim is to provide a swift response to concerns or queries raised and to ensure a thorough investigation takes place when required with complainants receiving comprehensive written responses including any actions taken. Learning from the feedback we receive is essential and this is shared with all Trust staff.

As a patient or carer, you may feel you need someone to talk to about any concerns or problems you may be experiencing. We liaise with staff, managers and, where appropriate, other relevant organisations, to negotiate speedy solutions and to help bring about changes to the way that services are delivered.

If you have any feedback about the service you have received - good or bad - we'd love to know. To find out how you can provide your feedback about Trust services, please visit the Your Feedback section.

A complaint can be made by anyone who is affected by the actions or decisions of the Trust. If you are complaining on someone else's behalf, we will need to check with them that they are happy for us to respond to you.

If you are unhappy about something, then it is always best to make your complaint as soon as possible and not more than 12 months after the incident or issue occurred. This time limit may sometimes be extended if there is a genuine reason why you could not make the complaint sooner.

Confidentiality is respected at all times when a complaint has been made. However there may be times when the Patient Experience team need to share your feedback with clinicians to help improve our services. If this is the case we will inform you first.

Personal contact will be encouraged when you raise a concern. You will receive a response in a manner that is appropriate for you and in a time frame that we have agreed with you. Consent to release clinical information will be required if your concern is in relation to another person.

You, or the patient concerned, will not be discriminated against if you raise a concern and information is not kept within clinical files.

It’s best if you talk to staff dealing with your care in the first instance, as they might be able to resolve any problems for you. However if they can’t, or if you’d prefer to talk to the Patient Experience team, please speak to them by using the below contact details.

The most important way we monitor and improve the quality of our services is from the feedback we receive from the people who use them, and their family and carers. You can give us feedback in the following ways:

Concerns and complaints will deal with in a manner that is proportionate and appropriate to the issues being raised. Staff will discuss with you how and when you want to receive feedback about your concern. Actions taken will improve services and ensure learning takes place. The information will be recorded centrally and routinely reported.

If you raise a concern or complaint with staff you can expect that they will take steps to resolve the matter themselves. If this is not possible concerns and complaints will be graded to assess the level of investigation required. Investigations will be reasonable, appropriate and proportionate to the issue being raised.

We will contact you within three days of receiving your complaint to acknowledge it and make arrangements to deal with it. It is helpful if you could provide a daytime phone number for us to contact you. We will discuss with you how long it will take to respond to your specific concerns.

If you are not satisfied with the response, you can make a formal complaint. Your complaint will be treated with sensitivity and understanding. A full investigation will be undertaken and you will receive a response from the Chief Executive.

To make a formal complaint please contact the Patient Experience team on 01332 623751 or 0800 027 2128

You can also ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate your complaint. You should do this within six months of our final response to you. You can write to them at: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP

If you prefer, you have the right to take your complaint about our service to Hardwick Health Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Please contact the Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit by calling 01332 868736

If your complaint is about a GP Practice, please call 0300 311 2233.

“You have the right to have any complaint you make about NHS services dealt with efficiently and to have it properly investigated.” “You have the right to know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint.” “You have the right to take your complaint to the independent Health Service Ombudsman, if you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the NHS.” NHS Constitution

YOUR CHOICE OF MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER

Choice plays an important role in making sure that people can access the provider of care that best suits their individual needs and preferences. The right to choose is enshrined in the NHS Constitution, so it’s a legal right everyone has. For more information about the choice of mental health provider that you have, please visit our your choice of mental health provider webpage.